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Peter Molyneux's Godus earned £526,563 ($852K) on Kickstarter in December 2012, yet the designer recently admitted that he would delay the funding campaign entirely if he could go back to the game's pre-planning stages. In an interview with TechRadar, the Fable series designer deemed Kickstarter and Steam Early Access as "very destructive to the final quality" of games that aren't particularly far along in their development stages.

In the case of Godus, 22 Cans' spiritual successor to Populous, Molyneux said supporters had a "view of what the game is going to be like" based on the Kickstarter project, which differed from what the "invest to play" game wound up becoming. "I'm not saying I would never do Kickstarter again, but if I was to do Kickstarter again, I would say 'look, we've done half the game, you can download this demo, you can play the game,'" he said. "'You know what the game's going to be, now we're going to take it from this point to this point.'" Godus is currently available on PC, Mac and Linux via Steam as well as iOS and Android.

Godus, the game that gives you phenomenal cosmic power, is now available on an itty-bitty living space: your iOS device screens. Mobile game developer / publisher DeNA has translated Peter Molyneux's game that quite literally lets you play god for Apple's iPad and iPhone, while simultaneously removing the price tag, meaning Godus is free to download and play.

Meanwhile, the PC version of Godus continues to evolve on Steam Early Access, with a recent post announcing that those who contribute "the most interesting, informative and helpful articles" to the Godus Wiki will receive signed merchandise from the team at developer 22 Cans.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>22-cansdeNAgodusiosipadiphonemobilePeter-MolyneuxThu, 07 Aug 2014 18:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2014/05/19/godus-ios-soft-launches-on-new-zealand-app-store/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/05/19/godus-ios-soft-launches-on-new-zealand-app-store/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/05/19/godus-ios-soft-launches-on-new-zealand-app-store/#comments
Peter Molyneux's new god-game spread its dominion to iOS after soft-launching in the New Zealand App Store over the weekend. Godusis available as a free download, and although no official announcement's been made its arrival downunder is likely the prelude to a full release in the coming weeks.

The iOS version offers gems as in-app purchases, with 100 gems costing NZ$6.49 (around $5.60). Purchasable gems have been a subject of contention for Molyneux and devloper 22 Cans, harking back to Godus' launch on Steam Early Access last year. However, the industry veteran denies his mobile model is like other free-to-play games.

"What we need is a new term," Molyneux said earlier this year. "And that term is more like 'invest-to-play'. What really are we doing? We are tempting people to invest some of their money into a game."

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>22-CansgodusiosipadiphonemobilePeter-Molyneuxrelease-dateMon, 19 May 2014 08:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/10/03/molyneux-you-can-doubt-me-but-i-can-just-change-godus/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/10/03/molyneux-you-can-doubt-me-but-i-can-just-change-godus/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/10/03/molyneux-you-can-doubt-me-but-i-can-just-change-godus/#commentsGodus creator Peter Molyneux told me how much he's enjoying responding to feedback and using analytics to change his game in "massive ways." In the din of the Eurogamer Expo press area, the 54-year-old designer showed me spreadsheets stuffed with values that he could adjust there and then, things like how much an in-game follower wants to build temples or how social they'll be. It wasn't lost on me that I was watching the man behind the multi-million selling Fable series show me the Excel innards of his indie game.

Molyneux described these values as smaller changes that are easier to effect, but he talked about how 22 Cans has "totally changed" the rules of the game's multiplayer in Steam Early Access: "We love the Early Access thing, we love that every week there's going to be radical changes to this game."

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>22-cansandroidgodusiosipadiphonelinuxmacmobilepcPeter-MolyneuxThu, 03 Oct 2013 14:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/10/03/molyneux-has-no-resentment-towards-fable-legends-im-a-fan/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/10/03/molyneux-has-no-resentment-towards-fable-legends-im-a-fan/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/10/03/molyneux-has-no-resentment-towards-fable-legends-im-a-fan/#comments
After a report emerged on Peter Molyneux's "mixed feelings" towards the recently unveiled Fable Legends, I asked the veteran designer if he had any resentment over seeing a major Fable entry crafted without his involvement. His answer was a quick, cheerful "Not at all."

"I'm now more of a fan than a person involved in it," Molyneux told me. "They're very talented people [at Lionhead], I'd just be fascinated to see where they're taking it. They've announced the Legends route which I find intriguing."

Molyneux previously expressed surprise that Lionhead isn't carrying over the Fable story to make Fable 4, saying "there was a great prize to be won there." Instead, the upcoming Xbox One game will be multiplayer-centric, trading character creation for more defined heroes.

Speaking to me at last week's Eurogamer Expo, Molyneux was upbeat, albeit somewhat cautious about the project.

"I'm a fan. I like the idea, it seems to be a playful idea, and I'm gonna be fascinated to see how that evolves. Until they make a game and I can get my hands on it... then maybe I'll think to myself 'Oh God why did they do this and that?' But at the moment I'm intrigued and fascinated."

I played it for a few hours over the course of its six-month lifespan. I feel a small amount of shame in confessing this, shame that I don't feel about anything else I've ever played - not Hooters Road Trip, not Dragon Power, nor any of the other terrible things I've subjected myself to. At least those things were games. Curiosity is a repetitive chore with a thin layer of "game" over it. It's gamification, applied to nothing.

But despite making fun of it relentlessly - and, on a couple of occasions, even simultaneously while making fun of it - I tapped cubes. My ironic detachment failed, and I couldn't help but buy into the hype on some level, at least enough to participate.

I admit that even though I knew it was a dumb game predicated on a promise from someone notorious for hyperbolic and unfulfilled promises, the novelty of the "life-changing prize" intrigued me. And so I joined thousands of strangers in helping some guy scratch off the world's most annoying lottery ticket.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>22-Cans22Cansandroidcuriosityiosipadiphonemobilepeter-molyneuxFri, 31 May 2013 15:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/27/assassins-creed-3-director-jamie-stowe-joins-22cans/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/27/assassins-creed-3-director-jamie-stowe-joins-22cans/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/27/assassins-creed-3-director-jamie-stowe-joins-22cans/#commentsAssassin's Creed 3 level design director Jamie Stowe recently joined Peter Molyneux's 22Cans studio. Stowe will assume the role of technical director for Godus, the developer's spiritual successor to Populous. Stowe worked at Codemasters as a QA lead and level designer prior to joining Ubisoft Singapore in 2009.

22Cans successfully raised £526,563 ($852K) on Kickstarter in December 2012 to fund Godus' development. Molyneux and his crew posted a new video update to 22Cans' Facebook page, which welcomes Stowe to the team.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>22-Cans22Cansassassins-creed-3godusjamie-stowepcPeter-MolyneuxpopulousUbisoft-SingaporeSat, 27 Apr 2013 12:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/12/21/godus-kickstarter-concludes-at-526k/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/12/21/godus-kickstarter-concludes-at-526k/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/12/21/godus-kickstarter-concludes-at-526k/#commentsPeter Molyneux's 22cans studio has completed its Kickstarter for Godus with £526,563 ($852K) in funding, from 17,184 backers. The game, which is a spiritual successor to Molyneux's Populous, reached its Kickstarter goal of £450,000 two days ago.

If you'd like to check out some prototypes for Godus, 22cans gave an overview earlier this week, following up with a multiplayer video. The game will be out when Molyneux says it's out.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>22-Cans22CansgoduskickstartermolyneuxpcPeter-MolyneuxFri, 21 Dec 2012 15:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/12/19/molyneuxs-project-godus-reaches-kickstarter-goal/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/12/19/molyneuxs-project-godus-reaches-kickstarter-goal/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/12/19/molyneuxs-project-godus-reaches-kickstarter-goal/#commentsPeter Molyneux's studio 22cans has reached its £450,000 ($730K) Kickstarter goal for Godus, a spiritual successor to Molyneux's classic game Populous. The Project Godus Kickstarter reached its goal with a little under two days to go.

With three days left to go, and another £80,000 needed to reach its Kickstarter goal, Peter Molyneux's studio 22cans is throwing out a "hail mary" prototype video of Godus.

22cans also plans to post a second prototype video sometime today with commentary from Molyneux, detailing Godus features found in and missing from the current prototype video.

Project Godus currently has about £389,000 ($630K) in pledges, with a goal of £450,000 ($730K) and three days to go. Per the basic rule of Kickstarter, the project will not receive the pledged funding if it doesn't reach the goal. You can explore more about Godus and Molyneux's move back into indie development in our Super Joystiq Podcast Special.

"I've seen the prototype, I've actually played it... I've got a few changes I'd like to be made, but the progress has been pretty constant, so Friday is going to be the time when we show the rest of the world what the prototype is," Molyneux says.

Godus is a reimagining of Molyneux's breakout 1989 god game Populous, and the new prototype should be available for PC and mobile download. Earlier this month, Molyneux told us he hoped to have a prototype out by Christmas.

"[The prototype] is not the most beautiful piece of computer interaction ever, but you knead it and you touch it and you get the idea that sculpting the landscape is amazing, seeing things react in the landscape is incredible, and it's definitely going to work," Molyneux says.

The Godus Kickstarter has seven days to raise £180,000, to reach its goal of £450,000.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>22-CansgodusmobilepcPeter-MolyneuxprototypeThu, 13 Dec 2012 21:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/12/03/molyneux-has-hope-for-downloadable-godus-prototype-by-christma/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/12/03/molyneux-has-hope-for-downloadable-godus-prototype-by-christma/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/12/03/molyneux-has-hope-for-downloadable-godus-prototype-by-christma/#comments22 Cans Kickstarter projectGodus will hopefully have a downloadable prototype by Christmas, Peter Molyneux told us in a recent interview. The 22 Cans founder, who is painfully aware of his public persona of over-promising over the years, recognizes Kickstarter projects are currently in that same precarious position.

"I hope by Christmas we have a prototype that people can download and say, 'Actually, you know what, they're already doing good work,'" Molyneux told us. "And this is what needs to happen with Kickstarter and games. The promises... wouldn't it be amusing if I was the one to prove this right? These promises have to result in great games."

Godus reaching its Kickstarter funding goal isn't a guarantee. The game (as of this writing) has £193,613 pledged of a £450,000 goal, with 18 days left to go. According to Kickstarter stat tracking site Kicktraq, the game will just make its funding goal if it sustains its average per day pledge total, but backers have been diminishing every day.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>22-CansgoduskickstarterpcPeter-MolyneuxMon, 03 Dec 2012 10:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/21/molyneux-reinventing-populous-with-godus-calls-on-kickstarter/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/21/molyneux-reinventing-populous-with-godus-calls-on-kickstarter/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/21/molyneux-reinventing-populous-with-godus-calls-on-kickstarter/#commentsPeter Molyneux's next experiment with his new studio, 22 Cans, is a "reinvention" of his classic god game Populous, fittingly titled Godus. "Project Godus" is now live on Kickstarter, where 22 Cans is asking for £450,000 to develop this rebirth of god games for PC, iOS and Android.

"Godus blends the power, growth and scope of Populous with the detailed construction and multiplayer excitement of Dungeon Keeper, and the intuitive interface and technical innovation of Black & White," its Kickstarter description reads. It will be multiplayer, probably with up to eight players at a time (though it seems Molyneux would like more). 22 Cans expects Godus will take seven to nine months to develop.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>22-Cansandroidgod-gamegodusiosipadiphonekickstartermobilepcPeter-Molyneuxpopulousproject-godusWed, 21 Nov 2012 14:45:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/09/22-cans-apologizes-for-curiositys-popularity-working-on-fixes/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/09/22-cans-apologizes-for-curiositys-popularity-working-on-fixes/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/09/22-cans-apologizes-for-curiositys-popularity-working-on-fixes/#commentsThe last 48 hours have been tough for Peter Molyneux's new outfit, 22 Cans. After launching Curiosity: What's Inside the Cube? earlier this week on iOS and Android, the servers were overloaded by the sheer numbers of players participating. There is also another significant bug that seems to be erasing player coins, which are used for in-game boosts.

The video update above was made by 22 Cans designer Jack Attridge, wherein he tours the office and asks a bunch of employees what they're doing about the problems. The team looks to be working to resolve these issues but, in response to the server overloads, 22 Cans has also opened a PayPal page for donations - you know, in case you really want to know what's inside that cube.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>22-cansandroidcuriositycuriosity-whats-inside-the-cubeiosipadiphonemobilepeter-molyneuxFri, 09 Nov 2012 18:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/07/curiosity-team-squares-off-against-connectivity-problems/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/07/curiosity-team-squares-off-against-connectivity-problems/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/07/curiosity-team-squares-off-against-connectivity-problems/#comments22Cans is at work fixing connectivity issues with Curiosity: What's Inside The Cube. If your experience with the networked cube-tapping game is limited to error messages, it should be addressed soon. "I now understand what's going on," Peter Molyneux tweeted. "Basically we and our server are overwhelmed by the number of people trying out the experiment." His team is working on an update.

As of writing, users who have successfully connected have cleared the first layer of "cubelets" off of two faces of the cube. After the first layer is completely cleared, players will begin clearing ... an unknown number of additional layers in an effort to find a secret in the center of the cube.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>22-cans22cansandroidcuriositycuriosity-whats-inside-the-cubeiosiphonemobilepeter-molyneuxWed, 07 Nov 2012 09:15:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/06/psa-molyneuxs-curiosity-whats-inside-the-cube-now-on-ios/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/06/psa-molyneuxs-curiosity-whats-inside-the-cube-now-on-ios/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/06/psa-molyneuxs-curiosity-whats-inside-the-cube-now-on-ios/#commentsPeter Molyneux and 22 Cans' Curiosity - What's Inside the Cube? is now available for free on the App Store. The first of the studio's 22 "experiments" was due on Android tomorrow, but Molyneux tweeted this morning 22 Cans is now trying to push it out today.

So how does the game work? Quite simply, actually. Curiosity revolves around, surprise surprise, a giant cube. You can rotate the cube to get access to all six sides, and then zoom in and out as you please. The aim is to get to what's inside the cube, and that's done by tapping away at its sides to shatter its outer layers of 'cubelets,' one cubelet by one. Each tap alters the state of the cube on the game's servers - meaning in theory the cube appears the same to everyone at the same time. Of course, latency plays its part.

Tapping squares earns you coins, with multipliers added when you build up a run of taps. You can also earn coins by getting friends to play the game. Coins can be used to purchase square-smashing add-ons, like a diamond chisel or a bomb. We tried out the firecracker, which manically breaks the cubelets around it in a quick little spiral.

As for what's actually inside the cube, that is now public knowledge. And it is - drumroll please - a video link, which actually explains what's really inside the cube. So what's actually in the video? It could be instructions for how to find the secret treasures of Xanadu, or maybe all of Molyneux's hopes and dreams somehow condensed into five seconds of footage. Whatever it is, it'll be up to that one winner to decide whether to keep the link private or show it to the world. Of course, the winner could just link to some other vid and we'd never know.

Of course, this game will come after the 22 "experiments" Molyneux's team is working on now, the first of which is Curiosity: What's inside the Cube, a million-player game that ends with one person discovering the life-changing secret inside a big cube.

"But everything that we do, every thought that we have, every moment of a day, is all working towards this full game," Molyneux says. "22 Cans is only going to make one game and that's it. You just release that single experience then you refine it and adapt it like - and don't think of this in any way other than an analogy - when a TV company makes a soap opera."

Considering Curiosity was announced in June and has since undergone a delay, name change and beta (and is expected to launch on iOS any day now), we can look forward to 22 Cans' actual, singular game in about seven years.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>22-Cansandroidcuriositycuriosity-whats-inside-the-cubeiosipadiphonemobilePeter-MolyneuxMon, 01 Oct 2012 23:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/24/molyneuxs-curiosity-now-subtitled-whats-inside-the-cube/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/24/molyneuxs-curiosity-now-subtitled-whats-inside-the-cube/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/24/molyneuxs-curiosity-now-subtitled-whats-inside-the-cube/#commentsPeter Molyneux confirmed the new title for his next project, formerly known as Curiosity, this afternoon. Earlier this week, Molyneux revealed that the name would have to be changed in order to keep it from colliding with the massive internet presence of NASA's identically named Mars rover. The new name - again, supposedly chosen to help distinguish the game - is Curiosity: What's Inside the Cube, according to a tweet from Molyneux. (Well, actually, the tweet reads "Curiosity:Whats inside the cube," but we're erring on the side of proper punctuation and capitalization.)

Peter Molyneux's first experimental title with 22 Cans is Curiosity, a potentially million-player title that has people chip away at a cube until one person hits the final piece and uncovers the ultimate secret inside. Peter Molydeux, a digital parody of Molyneux, has created a trailer for Curiosity using a few exaggerated quotes (and some not so hyperbolic).

"It will make the God Particle seem smaller than an atom," Molydeux (correctly) states. Molyneux has described Curiosity as something that "is so valuable, and so life-changingly important."

Molydeux's trailer posits that this discovery is "about to change life as we know it" and "it will be covered in the media for all eternity," while Molyneux has previously said "It's so amazing I think it will appear on news reports."

In response to Molydeux's trailer, Molyneux has offered a few hints as to Curiosity's secret, tweeting that he thinks the parody "is truly amazing. It's not a message, it's not an advert, it's not a job. I am loath to give more clues."

Curiosity will support microtransactions, with items ranging from $0.50 to $50,000. The game will be launched on August 22 for iOS, Android and PC.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>22-CansandroidcuriosityiosipadiphonemobileMolydeuxmolyneuxparodypcpeter-molydeuxPeter-MolyneuxWed, 18 Jul 2012 17:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/06/molyneuxs-first-22-cans-experiment-curiosity-hits-ios-android/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/06/molyneuxs-first-22-cans-experiment-curiosity-hits-ios-android/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/06/molyneuxs-first-22-cans-experiment-curiosity-hits-ios-android/#commentsWe were introduced to Curiosityback during E3, and come August 22, everyone will have their chance to try Peter Molyneux's first 22 Cans experiment. Molyneux revealed the Curiosity launch date during PC and indie games conference Rezzed, in Brighton, England.

At the core of Curiosity is a secret, one that Molyneux says "is so valuable, and so life-changingly important," as reported by Eurogamer. "It's so amazing I think it will appear on news reports."

Back in March, Fable series creator and longtime Microsoft man Peter Molyneux left subsidiary studio Lionhead Studios. Soon after, he announced his new studio 22 Cans, which proposes to create 22 different digital "experiments" precluding the studio's masterpiece.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>22-cansandroidcuriosityiosipadiphonemobilepcpeter-molyneuxrelease-dateFri, 06 Jul 2012 18:10:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/06/04/peter-molyneux-introduces-curiosity-his-first-22-cans-experimen/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/06/04/peter-molyneux-introduces-curiosity-his-first-22-cans-experimen/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/06/04/peter-molyneux-introduces-curiosity-his-first-22-cans-experimen/#commentsPeter Molyneux has introduced a game called Curiosity from his 22 Cans studio, coming to PC and iOS in about six weeks. Appearing on Spike TV this morning, Molyneux showed off screens of the game on an iPad, and said it would be the first of his experimental games out of the brand new studio he started after leaving Lionhead.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>22-cansexperimentgamegamesiosipadmobilepcpeter-molyneuxMon, 04 Jun 2012 11:54:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/05/23/molyneux-22-cans-conducting-22-experiments-first-one-due-in/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/05/23/molyneux-22-cans-conducting-22-experiments-first-one-due-in/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/05/23/molyneux-22-cans-conducting-22-experiments-first-one-due-in/#commentsPeter Molyneux's new studio is going to create his greatest game ever, but first it plans to make 22 of the almost greatest games ever. 22 Cans, Molyneux's studio, is rolling out a project called 22 Experiments, a series of digital releases leading up to the "final product," Molyneux told Beefjack.

The first experiment could drop in as few as six weeks for undisclosed platforms. Molyneux said the projects are "very very different, unusual, I think very intriguing things," probably because that's his thing. During a talk at Imperial College London's GaME12 event, Molyneux provided a vague vision for the direction of his studio, saying he wants to use current technology in ways no one else has, and sharing the following idea:

"I love this one thought, and I have experimented with this in previous games, that you find out more about yourself while being engaged with this experience than [you would] with anything else. And we all love finding out about ourselves - whether it's through personality tests, or someone turning around to you and saying X, Y and Z."

We look forward to a seriously introspective game of 22 Questions starting in six weeks.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>22-Cans22-ExperimentsmicrosoftmobilenintendopcPeter-Molyneuxplaystationps3wiixboxWed, 23 May 2012 22:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/21/molyneux-over-1-000-applicants-for-work-at-22-cans/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/21/molyneux-over-1-000-applicants-for-work-at-22-cans/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/21/molyneux-over-1-000-applicants-for-work-at-22-cans/#commentsPeter Molyneux, the prolific game designer responsible for Populous, Black & White, Fable and other household names recently left his "creative padded cell" at Microsoft and Lionhead Studios to found 22 Cans - a development house which Molyneux believes will create his greatest game to date.

Creating the best game of your carrer requires a little help, though, which is why Molyneux is in the process of filling the vacancies at 22 Cans. Unsurprisingly, there have been quite a few more applicants than available positions: "We've had just over 1,000 people apply for jobs at 22 Cans. That's pretty damn exciting. I'm working 16 hours-a-day just answering those emails," Molyneux said during an interview with Giant Bomb.

Don't get the wrong idea, Molyneux isn't complaining about his daily time investment. In fact, the designer sounds thrilled by the prospect of extensive hands-on work with a smaller team after his time at Microsoft/Lionhead.

"The first thing I did was clear out my diary of all reoccuring meetings that just happen as part of running a company of 200 people, and being part of Microsoft. I realized that 75% of my day was just doing nothing," he said. "Now, doing everything from answering emails to doing press stuff, to going and talking at universities and designing the games, it just feels fantastic to be that hands-on, it really does."

If you want to be part of that 1,000-plus pool of potential applicants, check out 22 Can's jobs site for more information about the six positions that remain open as of press time.

"The incentives for driving me out of my seat and into a shop is becoming increasingly limited. I don't go to retail to buy a film. I don't go to retail to buy music. I don't go to buy books any more. And I'm certainly not that interested in buying games in shops, myself," he told Develop. "If you look at everything that's exciting, from the resurgence of PC to iPad and iPhones, it's hard to see where retail fits into that."

Molyneux, who recently left Microsoft and started up his own studio, 22 Cans, is hard at work on his first game under the new roof. It's unclear whether that title will rely entirely on digital distribution, but Molyneux has gone on record as saying it'll be his "best" game ever. We wouldn't take that at face value, though; he says that about every one of his games.

"I believe it has all led me to this point. I believe the greatest game I've ever made is still ahead of me."

Molyneux is adamant that he is building something special with 22 Cans, in both the structure of the company and the games it will produce. So far he has co-founder and former Lionhead programmer Dimitri Mavrikakis, data miner Paul Knight and IT director Tim Rance on board, but Molyneux is looking to have 22 people total from various industries, including architects, veterans, fresh faces and people who know nothing about the video game world.

These people will help Molyneux make his "best" game ever; a game he couldn't create while at Microsoft. "I was in a creative padded cell," Molyneux said. "Microsoft was so safe. Microsoft was so nice. You're so supported. Everything I did couldn't hurt me, both creatively and physically. The danger was long gone. I had this huge desire to make something truly special, and I felt like I was being suffocated creatively a little bit."

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>22-Cansbest-game-everFablefable-the-journeyLionhead-StudiosmicrosoftmobilemolyneuxnintendopcPeter-Molyneuxplaystationps3wiixboxWed, 11 Apr 2012 18:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/07/peter-molyneux-leaves-microsoft-off-on-new-independent-venture/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/07/peter-molyneux-leaves-microsoft-off-on-new-independent-venture/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/07/peter-molyneux-leaves-microsoft-off-on-new-independent-venture/#commentsFabled game developer Peter Molyneux has left Microsoft and Lionhead Studios for startup 22 Cans. In a statement to Kotaku, the creative lead of Microsoft Studios Europe said he will conclude his work on the latest Fable before going off on the next great adventure.

"It is with mixed emotions that I made the decision to leave Microsoft and Lionhead Studios, the company that I co-founded in 1997, at the conclusion of development of Fable: The Journey," Molyneux said in the statement. "I remain extremely passionate and proud of the people, products and experiences that we created."

Molyneux expressed the departure was amicable and Microsoft noted the ever-quotable developer "has made an indelible mark on the games industry and we wish him all the best of luck in his future endeavors."